Commentary: The Hypocrisy of the NAACP

Commentary: The Hypocrisy of the NAACP

The NAACP regularly puts liberal ideology over the welfare of the Black community by lobbying for regressive economic policies that hurt black Americans.

Published July 18, 2013

Over the years, the mission of the NAACP has strayed from its founding values. More and more Black Americans are realizing that the NAACP no longer serves our entire community, but has dedicated itself to silencing those of us unwilling to toe the political party line.

Radical progressives have hijacked the NAACP and turned it into the advocacy arm for the Democratic Party. The organization regularly puts liberal ideology over the welfare of the Black community by lobbying for regressive economic policies that hurt Black Americans. For example NAACP President Ben Jealous has endorsed climate change legislation that would lead to job losses and higher energy prices. The regulations in the bill would raise electricity costs by 90 percent, gas by 58 percent and natural gas by 55 percent by 2035.

With a disproportionately lower national average income, Black households take the biggest hit from rising energy costs. By raising the cost of living through excessive environmental regulation, the NAACP is championing legislation that will disproportionately hurt the very people that the organization claims to represent.

The NAACP has routinely opposed school-choice efforts that would make schools better and safer for Black students. Failing schools make it almost impossible for children to rise from poverty to become successful adults. The graduation gap between white and Black students is shameful and should be addressed by organizations that claim to want to advance Black Americans. Only 17 percent of fourth-grade Black students are proficient in reading, compared to 44 percent of white students.

Yet, the NAACP unconditionally supports teachers' unions at the expense of students. Well funded teachers' unions are blocking school vouchers that would allow children to escape the conditions of their ZIP code to attend better schools. Democrats, with support from the NAACP, have been working to eliminate the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

With rare exceptions, the NAACP fails to support Black conservatives. The group gave Sen. Tim Scott a failing grade on its annual report card in spite of the fact that Scott, a Republican, is the Senate’s only Black member. The organization refused to denounce racist comments directed at Clarence Thomas, who happens to be the only Black justice on the Supreme Court. In the latter case, the NAACP was only willing to refer to a resolution it passed calling for civil discourse.

During debates on Fox News with Hilary Shelton of the NAACP, I exposed the political bias of the group, and asked him why the organization fails to support Black conservatives. If you’re Black and conservative, you can’t depend on the once-venerable civil rights organization, the NAACP, for help against discrimination.

The NAACP ignores racial slurs directed at myself, Rev. C.L. Bryant, former U.S. Rep. Allen West, former presidential candidate Herman Cain and many other Black conservatives. The good news is that the number of Black conservatives finding the courage to come out of the closet is growing. We can’t rely on the NAACP for help. But we do have facts, logic and freedom on our side.

If the NAACP wants to stay relevant they need to give a voice to Black conservatives and liberals alike. NAACP leaders should return to their roots, address problems like a failing economy and education system that are truly standing in the way of advancing Black Americans and open their arms to all who share those goals. The challenge of race in America cannot be solved by one side without the other. We need to work together to build a strong diverse America.

Deneen Borelli is the Director of Outreach for FreedomWorks and author of “Blacklash: How Obama and the Left Are Driving Americans to the Government Plantation.”

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